Matted fabric and process of producing same



Nov. 29, 1938. E. M. LAPHAM MATTED FABRIC AND PROCESS Of PRPOUGING SAME2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 15, 1937 @wmiw J17. Lab/50m jll E. M. LAPHAM2,138,108

Filed Nv. 15, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MATTED FABRIC AND PROCESS OFPRPOUCING SAME Nov. 29, 1938.

Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES ll/LYITEIB FABRIC AND PROCESS OFPRO- DUCIN'G SAMIE Ella, M. Lapham, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application November 15, 1937, Serial No. 174,533

4, Claims.

My invention provides an improved mat or matted material hereindesignated as a matted fabric, this term being used in a sense toinclude materials such as rugs, mats, carpets, and heavy cloth-likematerials. The invention also involves a new method or process ofproducing the material.

The body of the matted fabric is made from closely compactedbody-forming strips or ribbons which, in the process of making, are bentor reversely folded to form alternate or reversed pleats or folds. Thesebody strips or ribbons may, in themselves, vary in character. The mostcommon way of production thereof would be to tear or cut on the bias oldcloth or the like into strips of a width that is to represent thethickness of the matted fabric. Such cloth strips may be eithercottcn,-wool, or a mixture of the two, although, of course, Wool willproduce the best article. However, the body strips may be produced inother ways, such, for example, as closely Winding yarn into ribbon formand connecting the yarn by stitches or the like.

Regardless of the way that the body strips or ribbons are produced orthe character thereof, these pleated body strips are, in accordance withmy invention, united by a stitching thread which, in a novel way, isstitched and looped through the folds of the ribbons at intermediateportions of the loops, that is, about midway between the upper and lowersurface-forming edges of the strips so that the warp thread firmly bindstogether the loops of the strips and the rows of strips with the warpthread embedded in the fabricated body and protected against wear andinvisible in the completed article.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken approximately on theline l-l of Fig. 2, illustrating the manner in which the matted fabricis produced;

' Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section illustrating the first step in themanufacture of the article;

Fig. 4 is a perspective showing the manuallyoperated needle used in theproduction of the 'article;

Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on the line 55 of Fig; 1, butshowing the pleats of the fabric drawn together as in the completedarticle;

Fig. 6 is a View corresponding to Fig. 5 but showing a matted fabric ofmuch less thickness than that illustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 but illustrating a differentway in which the Warp thread is interlooped in the production of thefabric;

Fig. 8 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal sectionillustrating the way of producing a body-forming ribbon out of yarn bystitching through intermediate portions of the loops of the yarn;

Fig. 9 is a View much like that shown in Fig. 8, but showing anadditional binding strip stitched to the yarn; and Fig. 10 is aperspective showing a section of the completed ribbon, also illustratedin Fig. 9.

Referring first to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5,the numeral N indicates the manually-operated needle used in thecarryingout of the process in the production of the improved article..This needle ll has an eye 12 through which is passed a thread 13, shownas knotted at one end, as indicated at M. This thread may be ordinarythread, but usually will be either a very heavy sewing thread or a stillheavier material, such as cord or twine.

Referring now particularly to Fig. l, the body of the matted fabric ismade up of a multiplicity of body-forming strips or ribbons, only two ofwhich are shown, the first row being indicated as an entirety by thecharacter A and the second row being indicated as an entirety by thecharacter B. In'the process of manufacture the ribbons A and B are bentto form alternate pleats and, for illustrative purposes, the upwardlyprojected pleats of strip A are indicated by the character a, and thedownwardly projected pleats of the strip by the character a; while theupwardly projected pleats of strip B are indicated by the character I),while the downwardly projected pleats thereof are indicated by thecharacter b. The thread I3 threaded through the needle, as shown in Fig.4, is in the operation graphically illustrated in Fig. 1, applied asfollows: The first pleat a is formed in the strip A and the thread, byuse of the needle, is threaded through this first pleat to form thefirst thread loop la, and is then drawn back, carried over the crown ofthe first pleat a to form a loop lb and is then brought down throughlo'op la and threaded through the second pleat a to form the second loopIa, and is then brought back through first loop Ia and then is carriedover the second pleat a to form the second loop lb and from thencebrought through the second loop Ia.

This operation is continued throughout the pleats of the first strip Auntil the last pleat has been threaded. Then, by the use of the needle,the thread I3 is threaded through the first side of the first pleat b islooped downward at lc through the last loop lb, and is thence broughtupward and threaded through the second side of the first pleat b to forma loop Id. Thence the thread is drawn backward and looped at lb over thecrown of the first pleat b and from thence is passed downward throughloop Id. From there on, the operation just described, in the applicationof the thread to the second strip B, is carried out or continued, asclearly indicated in Fig. 1.

It will be understood that the forming of the pleats in the strips willbe progressive as the threading operation continues and that the threadwill be progressively drawn taut to 001m pact the pleats of thebody-forming strips or ribbons. Of course, at the completion of the laststitching operation, the end of the-thread will be secured againstunwinding by tying, knotting, or any other suitable way. As illustratedin Figs. 2, 5 and 6, the thread is well protected at the intermediateportion of the body of the matted fabric and is entirely invisible.

The body-forming ribbons or strips will usually be strips cut from oldcloth, the best for the purpose being woolen cloth or cloth largelywool. However, Figs. 8, 9 and illustrate different or other ways ofmaking up the body-forming ribbons or strips. As illustrated in Fig. 8,the yarn I5 is wound around the prongs of a wire fork l6 or the like andthe loops of the yarn are united by stitches I! produced either by handor with a machine. After the strips have been formed, they may be pulledofi IIOm the fork l6 and the yarn cut at the outer edges either beforeor after it is removed from the fork.

Fig. 9 shows a reinforcing ribbon or tape 18, preferably of cloth,applied to the loops of the yarn by the stitches ll. Fig. 10 shows thecompleted article made as illustrated in Fig. 9 but removed from thefork.

The needle used for the above purpose is preferably curved from the eyel2 to its point which greatly facilitates the passing of the threadthrough the various loops and through the pleats or folds of thebody-forming strips. In the use of this needle the thread is not, in theoperation described, removed from the eye of the needle,

but is progressively moved through the folds or pleats of the bodymaterial and through the loops of the warp thread.

The structure illustrated in Fig. '7 is like that illustrated in Fig. 1except that the thread from the second row is brought down not onlythrough the crown forming thread loops of the first row, but is alsopassed downward at Cl and through the intermediate loops of the firstrow. In both of the structures described, the stitching is made by asingle common thread that is interlocked with itself and without the useof a second thread.

In actual practice the weaving or making of the matted fabric, whetherin the form of a rug or of other form, may be very rapidly accomplished.

What I claim is:

l. A matted fabric made up of rows of alternately pleated body-formingstrips, and a single common thread threaded through the pleats of saidstrips intermediate of the edges thereof and interlooped between pleats,thereby interlocking the several rows of pleated body-forming strips.

2. A matted fabric made up of a multiplicity of pleated body-formingstrips, and a single common thread passed through the pleats of saidstrips, said thread being interlooped between the pleats of individualstrips and also interlooped and interlocked between the rows ofbody-forming strips.

3. A matted fabric made up of a multiplicity of rows of pleatedbody-forming strips and a single common thread passed through the loopsof the adjacent pleated strips, the thread being interlooped between thepleats of each strip and the thread of the adjacent rows beinginterlooped and interlocked.

4. The process of producing a matted fabric which consists in pleatingbody-forming strips, in successively passing a thread through the pleatsof the strips to form intermediate loops and from thence back throughthe pleat and intermediate loop and over the crown thereof, and fromthence in the same manner through successive pleats, in passing thethread through the first wall of the adjacent body-forming strips, fromthence downward and through loops of the first row, from thence throughthe second wall of the first pleat of the second row to form anintermediate loop, from thence backward and over the crown of the firstpleat of the second row, and from thence through the first intermediateloop of the second row and repeating said operation in successive pleatsof the second row.

ELLA M. LAPHAM.

